I have been encouraging and teaching people to breathe better for the better part of 16 years now, and not only because the word ‘breathe’ stood out to me from my very first yoga class.

Ok, so I thought the teacher was calling me out on something, like twisting the wrong way…again (no I was NOT in my body) but they were ‘simply ‘ reminding everyone to breathe.

This bodily process is both automatic - you don’t have to think about breathing (thank goddess or a lot of us would be in trouble, it really is a life and death matter…) and volitional/voluntary which means we can also breathe by choice.

We can chose ‘how’ and guide ‘when’ we breathe in and out through applying our consciousness to what we are doing.

This is essentially the science of Pranayama - yogic breathwork, and the Rebirthing Breathwork (a yogic pranyam itself) that I am now also sharing.

By consciously shifting the way we breathe, we impact our health and consciousness.

Following prescribed breath patterns, we can expect certain types of results. From the very simple practice of left nostril breathing to calm down and activate our parasympathetic nervous system, to complicated counts with nostril shifts, breath holds and other techniques added in. Each has it’s own impact, and even simple can be very profound.

This same process happens in reverse when we are stressed in some way - our breathing will shift in response to the event - perhaps a big gasping held inhale - and if we don’t reset that breath pattern, we will be inclined to experience life via the influence of the triggering event. This is when we see ourselves behaving in ways we logically might be ‘over’ but repeat the behaviour/poor choice etc anyway, for example.

Well, breath easy, the science is now in 💚

You can keep breathing, it IS good for you 😁

with 'volitional' (conscious or voluntary) breathing for the win!

"The research findings show that the advice to “take a deep breath” may not just be a cliché. Exercises involving volitional breathing appear to alter the connectivity between parts of the brain and allow access to internal sites that normally are inaccessible to us. Further investigation will now gradually monitor what such access to parts of our psyche that are normally hidden can reveal."

In Rebirthing Breathwork for example, we consider that keeping the breath connected in a continuous flow allows gentle access to the subconscious mind, the hidden or shadow self. This is not for the purpose of dwelling in or being overwhelmed by our subconscious though - this is for the purpose of clearing, and unhooking ourselves from triggers and the ‘unconscious’ mind games/patterns that have been running our lives (oh yes, it looks like freedom!!).

So we focus without judgement (and with compassion) on the breath along with the sensations and feelings that arise, and breathe through the flow. Importantly, we breathe through any breath patterns that arise that are beyond the prescribed breath of the practice (we don’t allow any holds or pauses in the breath for example) to release that imprint, allowing the moving on of emotions that were not expressed adequately for any reason at the time they initially arose, and to allow access to our own higher mind (which is especially inhibited by stress), enabling us to feel calmer, more relaxed and improving our decision making and problem solving capacities.

This serves to gently reset our breathing patterns, allowing us to return to our natural breathing pattern (perhaps lost in childhood or even before), accompanied by a more natural and innocent state of ‘being’. Also impacted are your nervous system (reset, and with increased resilience), and even the ‘way’ you think (neuroplasticity).

Anecdotally, it is considered that Rebirthing / Conscious Connected Breathwork can easily and safely clear what might otherwise take years in more traditional therapies, and it is certainly an excellent adjunct therapy.

All powered by a simple conscious breath… as is said here in Australia, too easy.

If feeling nourished by your breath, being supported to move beyond some of your inner ‘stuck spots’, and creating a lighter, freer experience of your self sounds like something you could do with in your life, then join me for our next group breathe session BREATHE ::: to Feel, to HealSaturday March 9th from 2-5pm at JUMA Health & Yoga in Tarragindi

Earlybird rates are available if you get in quickly! ( ending Fri)

This session is open to all, if you would like to talk to me about whether it would be suitable for you, call me on 0422 963 207If you prefer to explore this modality one-on-one, get in touch to chat about private sessions, and you can read and book in here: Rebirthing Breathwork.

Both pathways are an enriching exploration and work together exceptionally, as well as enhancing other practices you might already have in place.